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Wednesday, February 26, 2014

First Look: Hot Wheels Ryura LX...

If you didn't know already, the diecast designers at Mattel are a talented bunch. Sometimes you might not personally like their output, but you can also acknowledge that it is a matter of personal taste. Sure, they swing and miss on a few, but their ability to shrink a car down to a $1 mini version is pretty darn amazing.

But don't forget their made-from-scratch custom creations. There are many models that strike the kid's fancy and not collectors, but there is no doubt that many basic and premium non-licensed castings like the Dairy Delivery, Fast-Bed Hauler, Mad Manga, and Blown Delivery are hits with collectors.

We don't showcase a ton of the non-licensed models here on Lamley, but we thought this next one deserves a look. It is the Ryura LX, and that name was the first indication that we wanted to take a closer look at the model. Why, because it contains the name of one of our favorite Mattel designers, Ryu Asada.

So we photographed the model, and asked a few people in the know about how the Ryura came about.

This is apparently Hot Wheels' foray into the luxury sedan market. Think of VIP cars like the AMG S-Class or 7 Series BMW. It's big, and it looks to be fast (if it were a real car). Built from scratch by Ryu for 1:64 scale cajillionaires looking to go fast.

It does make for an interesting model, and something a little different from other non-licensed Hot Wheels cars.

18 comments:

It`s a cool looking car i think.The Center portion reminds me of the Chrysler 300 C (especially look at the roof!)The front and rear end look like one of those cool modern day Infinitys with the huge bend up wheek wells and the tough looking fenders.BTW,the Dairy Delivery isn`t actually a real non licensed casting.It shows a Divco Van from the 40s/50s

No, it's more than awesome. If anyone didn't notice the Ryura LX was named after the designer Ryu Asada, I can explain it more.

Oh, I figured this out already.

The first word "Ryura' has the designer's name, as Ryu. As you guys can see the first three letters says "Ryu' Maybe probably Ryu is a short form for saying his full name, Ryura. Is this correct? I really hope he replies me back and correct me if I was wrong.

But anyway, the Ryura LX is stellar, even if the headlights and rearlights are not printed, but this is like a daily royal limo. That is why it's part of the HW city works. You will see the word "Limo" on the sides, so that's how, again.

I love the luxury sport sedans, so to get creative and make a Hot Wheels casting out of one definitely gets my vote. However, I have to say that, some angles I love it; other angles I'm asking, why? I think if it was a little less muscular in the front it would have been love at first sight. Oh well, I'll have to see it in person to get the best opinion on it. Otherwise, it gets an A in terms of effort and thinking outside the box. At least it's not another hot rod made out of a dinosaur, or a pit bull.

I'd put this into a similar category as the Sentinel 400 Limo that debuted back in 2001-02. The front end reminds me of an old Cord. I see the 300C in the roof line. I prefer actual models myself, but this is pretty cool as a fictional piece. Love to see it with different wheels and color combos.

I like to see Hot Wheels stepping outside their normal licensed cars by releasing a generic that is somewhat semi-realistic. That's about as far as I go though. I don't care much for the casting but that is just my personal taste. Regardless, it takes talent to produce something like this. Talent that not many people have. Kudos to Ryu.